Musik
by blacksugarbomb
Summary: Neuro had always enjoyed playing with the criminals before consuming the mystery - toying with their minds and teasing them. But this time, he's asked for too much and everything is collapsing.
1. Chapter 1

**Author Notes:** Huge thanks to Someya again! Lately, she's become my plot development buddy; we talk about everything! I don't think this mystery is particularly smartly planned, but it was fun to plan and write even though it took us ages to smooth out all the bumps along the way. Love you a billion times more than your guinea pigs, Someya~

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro or anything related to it.

* * *

"That mystery barely made the grade," Neuro deplored with a gloved hand resting on his stomach, "I thought your international fame would bring high quality mysteries but it seems your evolution has come to a stop again."

Yako looked up at the demon exasperatedly, "Maybe that's only because your stomach is probably the size of the universe."

"Are you implying that my stomach is constantly expanding like how you humans think the universe is?"

"I think it's better if you don't tell me…" The detective slumped her shoulders.

She had never heard her demonic partner say that his hunger has been satiated – not even temporarily. If she said 'yes' to his question, who knows how he would reply? That his stomach was indeed constantly expanding and henceforth is impossible to fill for eternity? The thought didn't appeal to Yako at all. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Neuro's signature blank expression, alerting her to potential sadistic tortures but her phone started ringing in her bag all of a sudden, saving her from whatever he was planning. Fishing the device out of her bag immediately, she spoke into the phone politely, "Hello?"

Whilst the blonde was on the phone, a demonic battery on the end of a strand of Neuro's dark hair tinkled in slight motion. It was such a small movement that one might have mistaken it for the breeze but this didn't escape Neuro's senses. When he heard Yako decline whatever offer the other end was making, he snatched the phone from her hand and swiftly agreed to whatever it was they were discussing. The nineteen year old jumped up to try and retrieve her phone but was easily held at bay with a firm hand planted on her head, not to mention the large height difference even after three years of separation between her and Neuro.

Carelessly throwing the mobile phone back at Yako who only just caught it, the demon's eyes gave off a spectacular glow, "Another mystery requires our attention, Yako."

..::ЯR::..

"I'm sure the concert was going to feature Klavieres? Why has the programme been changed to feature Keane Schwartz? I've never heard of him…" The blonde detective murmured quizzically to herself as she looked from programme to ticket. Neuro asked who Klavieres was. "Klavieres is a young pianist who has been referred as a piano genius. Ever since winning a prestigious international music competition, he has become world famous overnight." Yako explained as she gestured to the pianist pictured on her ticket, a child obviously of Asian descent.

As the lights dimmed, sounds of the orchestra on stage tunning could be heard and before long, the concert commenced. Item after item, each piece was performed with gusto and excellence. Intermission came and went. When the time came for Keane Schwartz to perform his solo piece on the concert grand set up at centre stage, everyone was doubtful if this man could manage to fill in the audience's disappointment, many of whom had paid to come see a world famous pianist. The man emerged from the stage wings, dressed in a neat snow white suit with a black bowtie at his neck; the suit only making his skin look even paler than it already is. His slicked back hair was light blonde with hints of silver under the spotlight and his eyes a mesmerizing ocean blue – an appearance typical of the Nordic races. Even from a distance, many were charmed at first sight with the young man's appearance. After settling down at the grand piano and adjusting the seat a few times, he lifted his hands onto the keyboard. Pressing down on the keys firmly but with feather light touches, the first few chords sounded into the silent concert hall. With the change of the rhythm came a change in atmosphere. The pianist's agile fingers glided effortlessly over the black and white keys, the music flowing from the large instrument in unending threads. Reverting back to the original melody at the beginning of the piece, Keane's touches were soft and romantic, the sound produced somewhat like the piano's love song to the audience. When the performance ended, the concert hall exploded into applause. Many gave Keane a standing ovation. However, the small majority of the audience that weren't as enthusiastic were those who were the masters of music. Even their clapping seemed a beat off from the roar of others.

The evening's performances concluded with a climatic and extravagant rendition of Tchaikovsky's piano and violin concertos starring Keane and Violette, the one who had given Yako and Neuro free tickets to the Tokyo College of Music's concert which was held to celebrate their a hundredth anniversary. As she stepped out of the concert hall and thinking of relaxing for the rest of the night at home, Yako was roughly jerked back into the hall by the collar of her shirt.

"Have forgotten to feed your master?" The multi hair coloured demon sighed, "But I can't expect much from a goldfish with a memory of only three seconds, can I?"

Yako was about to say something in defence although she was too used to being demoted or promoted at odd intervals, but a young woman's chipper voice called out to her, dragging the nineteen year old from her train of thought. The approaching young woman was in her mid twenties and to say the least, she was attractive. She had long wavy black hair that gleamed a faint chocolate tint under light, maroon eyes that reminded Yako of autumn and long eyelashes that complimented her beautiful facial features. The young woman wore a simple silky sapphire blue dress; there were no fancy decorations nor was it an extravagant design. Despite this, the dress complimented her beauty greatly.

"To think the famous detective Katsuragi Yako would come watch our performance, it truly is an honour!" Violette smiled, "It's great to see you again too, Mr Assistant."

Putting on his fake persona, Neuro returned the greeting, "Teacher wanted to come and meet Klavieres no matter what so she made space in her schedule. But she was rather saddened to find him replaced. What happened to Klavieres?"

Yako looked up shockingly at her demonic boss – so shamelessly straightforward as usual! She nudged him gently in the stomach. He simply glared down at her. She surrendered.

"Apparently Klavieres decided to withdraw at the last minute and we didn't have time to find another guest performer. That was when Keane volunteered to perform since he was confident that he would be able to fill in for Klavieres. Of course, the conductor was concerned at first but it all turned out fine," Neuro tried to hide his smirk as he listened, "No one really knows why Klavieries withdrew so suddenly though; he was still here for the final rehearsals and he didn't say anything to me either."

From behind Violette, the piano soloist with the Nordic appearance approached the trio. As he neared the group, his hand automatically slid around the violinist's waist as he apologized for interrupting before having a short exchange of words with Violette. Yako tiptoed up as Neuro bent down a little so they could whisper amongst themselves. The detective whispered, "It's a little odd that Klavieres wouldn't tell his sister about his plans or views about the orchestra. If he planned to withdraw, he wouldn't have turned up to the final rehearsals either."

"I've gathered as much, slug," The demon playfully pinched the girl's cheeks and stretched it as if it was rubber, "I wouldn't have bothered coming to this terrible thing of a music concert if there was no mystery behind this."

"My apologies for being rude; allow me to introduce myself," The pianist said as he held out a hand, "I am Keane Schwartz."

Out of complete politeness, Yako shook his hand. Up close, Keane's features were even more distinct and charismatic. Everything seemed so perfect about him. But as soon as Yako shook his hand, it was as if the cherry red skin of the apple had been peeled off to reveal the actual rotten insides of the fruit. His handshake was firm, almost unwilling to let go of her hand. Even when their handshake was lasting for an abnormally long time with Yako wanting to have her hand slide out of his, she couldn't help but notice that the man was eyeing her up and down with a sly smile plastered to his face as if she was a fine piece of vintage on auction. The blonde girl couldn't shake off this uncomfortable feeling that Keane Schwartz was more than he seemed. It kept her on edge.

Naturally, this didn't escape unnoticed by a certain someone.

..::ЯR::..

Strolling down the backstage hallways as if he had every right to do so, Neuro looked left and right of the hallway which was littered with practice and storage rooms. Yako had been unsure with the way things were unfolding and expression on Keane Schwartz's face was burnt into the back of her mind. It was like having an itchy spot where she just simply could not reach – it irritated and irked her to no end. She was so bothered by it that when Neuro had stopped in front of her, she kept on walking. When she realized that only her footsteps could be heard, she raised her head and was slightly traumatized to find a sharp claw pointing at her forehead. If she had taken another step forward, the finger tip would have drilled itself into her head.

Unlike his usual self, Neuro only said, "Pay attention."

Yako watched as the dichromatic haired man entered the practice room with a grand piano situated in the middle of the spacious room. The room was adequately equipped; its walls and ceiling was obviously sound proof and a metronome sat on a small table beside the piano. Before following suit, the detective read the name written on the whiteboard outside the room and flinched. Keane Schwartz. Hesitantly, Yako stepped into the room. Every fibre of her being rejected her decision of entering the room. Normally when she knew Neuro was with her, she would possess a certain degree of relief and security but even though she was in the same room and within reaching distance of the demon, she couldn't help but feel exposed. Watching as Neuro sat at the glossy black piano, the blonde exclaimed, "Neuro, we're not meant to be here at all! If you play the piano –"

But all the demon did was put a gloved finger to his lips. For a moment, he seemed to study the monochrome keys laid before him. Then with a dainty move of his fingers, one of the most beautiful tunes Yako had ever heard streamed out from the piano. The left hand was a light accompaniment and the right hand an elegant melody. Although the performer showed no expression whatsoever, the sound he produced was stunning. His large hands gave him advantage over the chords and his arm movements were swift, shifting his fingers from one position to another. When the music halted, the detective was amazed; thinking even somebody like a demon from hell could play the piano in such a way that captured human hearts. And then that thought was completely sliced up into little shreds when Neuro bashed the piano with all his might, a grin on his face. The chord was composed of ten clashing notes, marking the beginning of something exotic and unworldly – not pausing there, the demon's fingers danced across the piano keys like they had a life of their own, moving so fast that Yako could barely follow them with her eyes. The notes seemed to all be played at random because they collided with such an appalling sound and yet, she could tell each key was pressed with precision. She cringed with every note. At the climax of the piece, the piano was deafening and Neuro's facial expression was the very definition of twisted joy.

When it was all over and Neuro didn't play anymore, Yako's whole body had stiffened up in shock – from her companion's astounding music skills or the sudden change in musical style, she didn't know herself. "How was that?" The odd hair coloured man asked from the piano, "Have you picked up any clues, goldfish? Or were you simply so overwhelmed by your master's musical talent that your three second memory has refreshed itself again?"

The blonde detective could think of nothing but the vociferous piano notes still reverberating in her ears. Suddenly the room seemed too quiet. Yako let her eyes do the talking; her eyes scanned over every inch of the room but avoided looking at Neuro. Just then, a team of backstage crew burst into the room in a rush of footsteps, "Hey, what are you two doing here? Backstage is for authorized personnel only. All guests should have left an hour ago!"

Turning around so he sat facing the intruders, the mystery eating demon's eyes flared fluorescent green as his smile widened, "Pianos with shorter and thicker strings have more inharmonicity. The longer strings on a concert grand can vibrate more accurately than the shorter, thicker strings on a baby grand, which means that a concert grand's strings will have truer overtones," Neuro crossed his long legs and said in that deep velvet coated voice of his, "This concert grand doesn't sound the same – what are you hiding inside?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Author Notes:** In case no one's realized it by now, Keane Schwartz is German. Neuro's little spontaneous piece was inspired by a mixture of _Salute d'amour_ and _The Flight of the Bumble Bee_. And in case everyone's forgotten her name, Shizuka is the later addition to Sasazuka's team, you know; the police girl who's always competing against Ishigaki? Yeah, her.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro or anything related to it.

* * *

_Turning around so he sat facing the intruders, the mystery eating demon's__ eyes flared fluorescent green as his smile widened__, "__Pianos with shorter and thicker strings have more inharmonicity. The longer strings on a concert grand can vibrate more accurately than the shorter, thicker strings on a baby grand, which means that a concert grand's strings will have truer overtones,"__ Neuro crossed his long legs and said in that deep velvet coated voice of his__, "This concert grand doesn't sound the same – what are you hiding inside?"_

..::ЯR::..

Immediately after announcing the name of the world famous detective Katsuragi Yako, the crew glanced at each other hesitantly, their eyes daring each other to reply to the assistant's question. A brave soul stood forward with furrowed eyebrows although he was obviously slightly intimidated by the pair, "What do you mean by hiding something inside? It might just be a problem with the piano strings."

"And Mr Schwartz would practice in a room with a damaged piano before his performance because?" Neuro raised his eyebrows in interest.

The group of staff shuffled their feet nervously. Yako's amber eyes flickered over to the grand piano and suddenly memories of a red box resurfaced. She shivered.

"Shall we take a look?" The tall man stood and rested a hand on the piano's lid, his gloved fingers curling over the edge of the glossy black wood. The men at the door stood unblinking as Neuro lifted up the hefty piano lid with ease and held it in position with the lid prop. He narrowed his eyes at the discovery he made with a smirk, "My, my."

Yako stepped towards the concert grand and her eyes widened in disbelief. Inside the piano lying above a network of piano strings was a thirteen year old child. He was still completely dressed in casual wear from head to toe. His arms were stick thin, fragile looking like the taut strings he lay on. The boy's pale skin only made the dark purple bruise on his neck more visible, the large bruise shaped like two hands wrapped itself around the boy's neck. There were no visible injuries apart from his bruised neck.

"So it wasn't that Klavieres didn't want to perform, it was because he couldn't…" Yako murmured to herself whilst frowning at the corpse. Who would hold a grudge against the genius pianist? She had the chance to catch a glimpse of him before during Violette's case and if she could describe him, Klavieres was the sweetest and most innocent child she had ever met.

Pulling her over roughly to stand before him, Neuro rested his hands on the blonde's shoulders. He could feel the muscles under his hand tense as her eyes kept straying to the body in the piano. The dichromatic haired demon addressed the team of pale faced crew with a slight smile that probably scared them more than ease them, "Teacher would like to hear more on the death of Klavieres."

"Oi, go call the police now!" After a nudge, one of the staff bolted out of the practice room to call the police, leaving the rest still rooted to the floor.

The man who spoke earlier raised his head to face the detective. He said, "We actually found him in the piano several hours before the concert. Mr Schwartz told us that something was wrong with the piano and requested a room change. We all thought it was odd since the piano still functioned properly prior the concert day. After he left the room, we checked the piano to find the body in there. Because we didn't want to disrupt the concert since it celebrates the hundredth anniversary of the music college, we didn't tell anyone. We notified everyone that this room was strictly out of bounds. We were going to call the police after the concert was over but you discovered the corpse before we called them."

Later that night when the police arrived and took charge of the crime scene, they managed to talk to Shizuka who agreed to fax over the information over to the office as soon the information had been processed, much to Ishigaki's dismay. It was late and no one apart from the backstage staff cleaning up after the concert were present, so the evidence extracted from interrogation was limited. For the second time that day, Neuro acted unlike his usual self and decided that they would excuse themselves since they would only get in the way of the police. As he walked along the street with the busy night traffic of Ikebukuro whisking past him, Yako trailed behind, trying to piece what little knowledge they had on this case together. "Why didn't you stay like usual and use one of your 777 tools?" She asked. When he didn't reply, she voiced her thoughts, "The murderer has to be Keane Schwartz."

"Oh? What makes you so certain?" Neuro stopped to look at the blonde.

The detective blinked and forced a smile, "Instinct… I guess?"

The sadistic demon stepped towards her until he had to look down at her in a superior way, his hands squeezing her shoulders. Then his lips curved in a dangerous grin and a small drip of saliva escaped his mouth, narrowly missing Yako's face and dripping onto the cement. The ground hissed and gave off a putrid smell of cement being eaten away by the acidic substance. The blonde froze. After a few more plays with threatening to drip his saliva onto her, Neuro got bored of it much to Yako's relief.

"You must not always rely on me and my tools, Yako," the demon replied as he resumed his walking pace, "You're returning to your primitive stages of evolution."

..::ЯR::..

Yawning as she pushed the door open, Yako stumbled into the office whilst rubbing her eye sleepily. She had been waking up extra early to make sure she was on time to work but of course, Neuro always found the excuse to punish her for being late – most of the time with stupid excuses like the clock was wrong or he was testing to see if she was awake or not. Today, she walked in to find her demonic boss seated at Troy, his back facing her. The blinds of the window were pulled up, letting the early morning sunlight to flood into the office. Closing the door behind her and dropping her bag onto the couch then wandering over to Troy, she wondered if the demon was still sleeping. Then suddenly, the chair swivelled around and with an unceremonious toss, papers were flying everywhere. "The police haven't revealed anything that I don't know already," the man said as the sheets of paper drifted to the ground, "We need more evidence."

Crouching down to pick up the paper, Yako skim read the information. According to the autopsy report, the victim had probably died a day before the concert; rigor mortis had settled on the body. The last time anyone had seen Klavieres was on the day of his death, during their final rehearsal. All musicians who performed at the concert were questioned and all of them have a perfect alibi for the time of death, including Keane Schwartz. Majority of the foot prints were found in the room belonged to Keane and his fingerprints were also found on the piano, but this was only natural since the crime scene was previously his practice room. All the evidence pointed away from the German pianist. The only thing that stood out amongst all the information was the indications of hypostasis on the victim's body. The blood had sunk to the back of the corpse and also the feet. But if the body had been kept there since the moment of death, the blood should only accumulate on the back.

After gathering all the scattered paper and setting them neatly back on Troy, Yako commented, "Well we can't do much if the police can't get any extra information and you're not willing to use your tools."

"I've said this before," Neuro put up his feet on Troy and clasped his hands over his stomach, "You can't rely on my tools all the time."

"I get the point! But there's no other way we can get more evidence if –" Yako started to say but then caught sight of the demon's blank face, "What are you planning?"

"Nothing."

..::ЯR::..

It was still in early summer when the last traces of spring still lingered in the air, a rejuvenating breeze weaving through the gaps of buildings and bringing a sense of freshness to the people living in the city of Tokyo. The sun was shining brightly high up in the sky and all creatures big and small basked in its warmth. With such fine weather, it was the perfect time to spend a day out just enjoying life. Keeping this in mind, Yako dressed herself in a feminine black top with an elaborate design of white embroidery around the collar matched with a semi-formal crosshatched skirt that reached mid thigh with a deep purple belt secured around the waist, clothes with a relaxed flair. Like this, she then took the train to Ikebukuro and walked to the Tokyo College of Music once again, this time finally taking in the modernity of the architectural style and all the details hidden by the night's game of light and shadows. Coming to a halt in the reception, she looked up and let her eyes glide over the hundreds of engraved names on metal plates that enumerated the musical excellence of the students of this music college. A few names clicked in her mind while the rest were completely unfamiliar.

"Why, it's the great detective Miss Yako," Keane Schwartz passed by, holding a stack of papers dotted and lined with music notation and scribbled writing, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Perfect timing Mr Schwartz! Are you free?" Said detective turned around with a smile, her handbag held in both hands like a basket. Her hands tightened. "I know of a fantastic place to have a nice afternoon tea. It'll be a waste to not go out in this weather!"

The pianist gratefully accepted her invitation and instructed a student conveniently walking by to take the papers to an office just further down the corridor which branched off from the reception. The youngster reluctantly agreed and set off to complete the task. Keane gestured for the detective to leave first politely before following behind. Along the way to their destination, they made small chit chat although the German did most of the talking. By the time they arrived at the café, he realized he was talking too much about himself, he profusely apologized and asked Yako to tell him about some of the cases which she had solved. After a moment's pondering, she began to narrate the beginning of a series of life turning events – her father's murder and consequently, her encounter with Neuro.

After a small interruption by the waiter who asked for their order whereupon Yako resisted the urge to order every single dish on the menu in super large portions and swallowed her desire to eat and simply asked for a cup of lemon tea. Her companion seated across from her ordered a cup of black coffee. The waiter left.

"Are you sure you won't feel uncomfortable retelling your father's death?" The older man asked in concern.

The blonde smiled, nodded and continued. She recalled every shocking detail of the crime scene where the body was found brutally torn with injuries on the ground in a sealed room painted crimson with her father's blood. And then she spoke of the funeral, how chaos started to plant its roots in her head and how there was this new alien feeling of doubt. It was then that she met Neuro, her current assistant. She didn't talk about how they met, when or where but carried on to talk about her conviction to solving her father's case and how she eventually made that reality after much hard work done by Neuro and herself.

Of course half of that was spontaneous impromptu storytelling that everyone believed. There was no way Yako could have revealed the truth about Neuro.

The waiter from before approached their table, set down a tall glass of lemon tea and a cup of aromatic coffee then departed again. Keane picked up the spoon and mixed the dark brown liquid, making a mini whirlpool before lifting the cup up, breathing in the bittersweet scent and sipping the hot liquid. Putting the beverage down on its saucer, he said, "That was quite the story. I'm amazed you've come so far, Miss Yako."

"Well, I really couldn't have done it without someone," The nineteen year old gently poked at the lemon inside the glass thoughtfully then sucked the chocolate brown fluid up through the thin black straw, "And just Yako is fine."

"This person must have a special place in your heart; who is it? Your mother?"

"My mother did support me a lot along the way but no, it's someone else. I suppose you could say that he's close to me and yet still rather distant? He's been with me through this entire time and yet, it feels like I know nothing about him." Yako laughed at the thought.

Picking up his cup and sipping from it again, Keane narrowed his eyes and let them wander elsewhere, watching a pigeon launch itself from the roof of a building and fly off with several flaps of its grey wings as a cloud drifted across the sun, casting a large shadow across the city. The warm glow that danced in his eyes before were now extinguished by heavy storm clouds that dulled his eyes into a heartless icy hue.

"I see. Do tell me more about this special person, Yako, he must be quite a mystery too, judging from how you describe him."


	3. Chapter 3

**Author Notes:** I seem to always end chapters with dialogue. =0= Huge thanks to Someya once again because she is such a star! :D I managed to fit some hinted NeuroYako in last chapter. And some actual solid NeuroYako this chapter; cookies for me! And the jazz song that plays in the background towards the end is _L-O-V-E_ by Nat 'King' Cole. (L is for the way you look at me; O is for the only one I see; V is very very extraordinary; E is even more than anyone that you adore can~) That song is awesomely addictive! And yes, all Neuro does there is just trip her over and over again; but I know you all like it.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro or anything related to it.

* * *

_Picking up his cup and sipping from it again, Keane narrowed his eyes and let them wander elsewhere, watching a pigeon launch itself from the roof of a building and fly off with several flaps of its grey wings as a cloud drifted across the sun, casting a large shadow across the city. The warm glow that danced in his eyes before were now extinguished by heavy storm clouds that dulled his eyes into a heartless icy hue._

"_I see. Do tell me more about this special person, Yako, he must be quite a mystery too, judging from how you describe him."_

..::ЯR::..

Sprinting up the stairs of the building and skipping steps even in her heels, Yako raced up one set of staircase after another. For the first time, she wished that these stairs would end soon unlike all the other times when she dreaded taking each step in the morning to face the demon lurking in the office above. Nearly tripping on the last step, the detective quickly resumed her running until she arrived at the door of the agency which had been thrown open, much unlike the usual when it was shut. The state of the office was a sight to behold – the book shelves that held folders of information and records had been attacked like a bookworm leapt at the books in a library, half the folders ripped out of their places in the shelves and cast onto the floor. A few of the windows at the back had been shattered into intricate webs of cracks with several bullet holes piercing the glass, the blinds obviously also broken. Papers were scattered messily over Troy, the table miraculously surviving the explosion of violence in the office unscathed. Caring less about the current state that the office was in, Yako made her way around the debris left over from whatever had happened in the room. She called out to Neuro hesitantly but with a clear hint of worry in her voice.

Spotting a braid of black hair waving around frantically from the hidden nook of the wall, she inquired, "Where is Neuro?"

Akane gestured towards the space behind Troy which was decorated by a large splotch of crimson. It was spread out in such a way that it almost resembled a scarlet red flower blooming, the colour flowing into the tile gaps making it seem that the flower was still unfurling its wrinkled petals that were restricted in a bud previously. At the core of the flower was a single hunched figure clad in ocean blue. Leaving her handbag on Troy, Yako ignored staining her clothes and crouched down by the demon, resting an uncertain hand on his shoulder. She shook him lightly. He coughed and more blood splashed onto the ground, dripping from his mouth.

"Neuro, what happened?" Yako's eyebrows were curved in anxiety. Were his demonic powers depleting faster than he expected? Was the opponent too strong for him? Was he lacking in miasma? Would he recover? Fear gripped her, as if trying to suffocate her. Kneeling down on her knees, she bent down further to peer at Neuro's hung head.

And there she found a grinning face staring back at her.

Then it all came together in her mind; Neuro and his stupid games from Hell. To say the least she was furious.

"An opportune moment to test your dedication to your master," the demon declared as the chaos in the room returned to normal, the debris dissolving in thin air and the bookshelves lined with folders again, "I'll pass you this time, slave. I expect better results next time."

Deciding to remain silent before she said something stupid to get herself stuck deeper in the quicksand of sadistic tortures, Yako sucked in a breath, letting the cool air fill her lungs. When she was sure she had her temper under control, she opened her mouth to complain about messing with her emotions but then she clamped her jaws shut again. Everything had returned to normal except the stream of blood trickling from the corner of Neuro's lips. She frowned and demanded an explanation.

"Oh, this? I had the honour of swallowing one of these in your place, teacher; remember the time that terrorist attacked you?" The multi hair coloured demon blinked innocently and raised his hand, showing Yako a glinting bullet between his fingers. His face turned dark, "Putting that aside, I'm disappointed to find that you failed to figure something out about the situation even though I had gone to the trouble of leaving an obvious clue." Neuro slammed a hand down on Troy.

"Well, given the situation, of course I didn't really care about the surroundings that much…"

"Exactly."

"Huh?"

"Humans always make the direst and stupidest mistakes when they're desperate."Neuro wiped the blood from his face with his sleeve, "Right about now, Keane Schwartz would have probably figured out who he's up against and that he'll have to work harder if he wants to win the prize."

Yako blinked, "Prize? What prize?"

With a middle finger pointed at her Neuro said, "You."

"Right, me!" The blonde laughed, "Wait, what?"

Settling in his seat behind Troy, the mystery eating demon crossed his legs and reclined in the chair leisurely, "From the moment he met you, Keane Schwartz was interested in you even though Violette is his girlfriend. I've been gathering information and it seems that their relationship is rather one sided. That's why I sent you to see him today; to give him the bait. Two days later, I'll feed him some more."

"So I'm the bait?" Yako pointed to herself as her eyebrow twitched in annoyance. Neuro's blank smile was all she needed. "But what do you mean by 'two days later'?"

"We've been invited to their formal."

..::ЯR::..

Cutting through the crowds of people was Violette who looked refined and stunning as usual in whatever she wore – a short strapless silk black dress in this case – was making a beeline towards a figure dressed in a tailored black suit with matching deep blue waistcoat and tie, a light blonde haired man enjoying the light conversation he was making with a friend. She had been greatly saddened by the news of her little brother's death and had been in a state of absolute misery for the past days. Perhaps to compensate for the loss, Violette attended classes everyday and worked twice as hard as anyone else in hopes of burying herself in her work to forget the sorrow. She acted cheerful to show that she was dealing with Klavieres' death just fine. Everyone had expressed their condolences for her loss and she was grateful. However, the person whom she wanted comfort from the most hadn't said a word to her since the incident.

"Ah, Violette's here; I'll excuse myself then," The blonde man's friend waved a small hello to the approaching violinist and walked off, "See you around, Keane."

Wordlessly, Violette dragged the German behind her, weaving through the crowds again to escape the hum of chatter. Once outside, the violinist didn't stop but continued to lead the way to the more isolated branches of the hotel where no one could be seen. Finally, she settled with the emergency fire escape route with the unending stairs spiralling upwards in geometric lines. Violette planted her hands on her hips in an authoritative manner, her gloss painted lips drawn in a tight line. Keane stood with his back against the wall, his expression equally unamused.

"I need to have a word with you, Keane."

"Well spit it out, I don't have all day to dawdle around with your silly love games."

From the very start, she had been aware that even though they were going out, she was only furniture to Keane Schwartz. She knew it was an unrequited love. She knew that Keane only agreed to make her his girlfriend to take advantage of her. She knew about his double personality of acting all lover-like in front of others and cold hearted when they're alone. His words constantly cut her, but she swallowed the pain. Violette knew all this and yet, she couldn't help but be jealous of those whom the German pianist was interested in.

"Do you like Yako?" Her deep burgundy eyes locked onto Keane's uninterested gaze, trying to peer over the high walls the man had built to shield his thoughts from her.

He glanced at his watch, and pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe the watch face, "So what if I do?"

Tears welled up in Violette's eyes and she began to shake, her voice hoarse, "Even after all this time, you still don't love me?"

Keane easily reversed their positions, trapping the violinist between him and the wall. Burying his face in the curve of her neck, his lips curved into a smirk against her sensitive skin, making her flinch. The pianist's hand danced from her arm as if he was playing the piano, all the way up to her shoulder. There his fingers traced her collar bone slowly. Pausing where the bone ended, he lifted his head and without warning, his hands wrapped themselves around her neck, constricting her airway instantly. Violette coughed and tried to suck in gulps of air but none of these worked. Tears streamed down the dark haired girl's cheeks as she struggled and attempted to undo his tight grip of her neck but to no avail; Keane's hands only tightened. Within a minute, she could no longer bear the lack of air and Violette went limp. Releasing her, the German watched as the girl's body fell into a heap on the floor.

Leaning down, he whispered, "Love? I'll give you as much of it as you want."

Dusting his hands off as if he had touched something foul, Keane stepped over the body and casually made his way back to the function room as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.

..::ЯR::..

A large group where people had gathered in a circle. There was a moment's silence from the group and then a huge roar of laughter. In the ring of spectators there were two couples surrounding a table filled with glasses of wine of different sorts; the ladies were seated at the table with their partners standing beside them like faithful servants. One of these couples was Katsuragi Yako and her assistant. The detective adorned a simplistic white dress that reached her knees which was devoid of any decorations apart from the rich claret strip of silky fabric that snaked around her waist like a belt and was fastened with a brooch lined with sparkling rhinestones. Her slightly curled hair was held up in a ponytail that layered and cascaded her tresses nicely with a few loose strands framing her face and her trademark red grinning hairclip holding back a few rebellious locks of her golden hair. The peculiar assistant had changed out of his eccentric blue suit into formal wear much like the attire of other men although his black necktie still gave away his odd tastes as it was much like a cross between a tie and a cravat.

The dichromatic haired man placed a finger on his lips with a look of worry and asked the detective if she felt all right.

"I lost fair and square so I'll drink it." Yako declared as she directed another sceptical look at the glass of chilled white wine presented to her on the table and gulped. This was the fourth time she had lost and drinking wasn't her strength although she had a stomach made of iron. The tall man beside her bent down, his innocent expression replaced with a dark smirk as he swiftly punched her in the stomach. The blonde girl gawked at him incredulously as she clutched her stomach and doubled over in pain.

Neuro straightened himself and apologized, "It seems teacher isn't feeling too well, I'm sorry but you'll have to excuse us for a while." Plucking the blonde from her seat and tucking her under his arm like she was a parcel, Neuro marched out of the room and dropped Yako on the thick carpet, watching as she supported herself on all fours, a hand held over her stomach. Rather than helping her, the demon commented offhandedly, "And I was looking forward to see if you would stay curled up like a millipede when disturbed."

Biting her bottom lip to suppress a whimper of agony that would no doubt just make Neuro more chipper, the detective picked herself up from the ground with a hand rubbing her abdomen. She glared unsuccessfully at the man as he returned it easily with a stare. Neuro surprised her when he took off his suit jacket and threw it at her. The demon didn't say anything, only pointing towards a door tucked away in a hidden corner with his middle finger. Following his instructions, Yako made her way to the door and stepped through. A blast of cold air enclosed around her small frame and she quickly understood the purpose of Neuro giving her his jacket and slipped it on although it was extremely oversized, the jacket always somehow lopsided and the sleeves several inches too long. Perhaps the area was not meant to be open to public, but the roof top had no railings bordering the area. In the background, she could hear the unmistakable flare of brass instruments supported by streaks of soft violins, the hypnotizing beat of the drum and eventually, the low soothing voice of a vocalist. Standing at the edge of the open space with the breeze ruffling her curls, Yako was attracted by the breathtaking cityscape of Tokyo as it unfolded itself before her, the glittering lights of traffic and buildings lighting up the night sky like all the stars had fallen down from the sky and settled upon the city.

Suddenly, the lights swirled as her legs gave out under her and she was starting to dive down towards the zipping highway below but was caught just in time by Neuro who nonchalantly held her hand with one hand as if it didn't really matter if she fell or not in all honesty. He eventually pulled her back up and overcome with shock of nearly falling off the top floor of a sixty floored hotel onto a highway at peak hour, Yako let herself cling to the safety of Neuro for a while before she snapped out of it and was about to shout something at him but was silenced when his face was so close that their noses were practically touching and he shushed her with a shadowy whisper. Swinging back into motion, the demon guided her away from the edge of the building before tripping her for the second time within a minute, making her stumble and crash into the tall man's chest.

Neuro's green eyes reflected the moon's silvery glow for an instant as it momentarily revealed itself. He didn't say anything but the smirk plastered on his face wasn't very reassuring. Using pure force, he pulled and jerked her to and fro like a puppeteer does his puppet then he deliberately spun her in the wrong direction just to twist her arm at an impossible angle and hear that pleasant cracking noise from her bones. If that didn't certify that she had dislocated her shoulder, he would give another forceful yank. Halfway through this, Neuro had joined in with the singer, humming along to the melody sinisterly in a way that everything beautiful about the song had been replaced by everything twisted and evil. At this point, Yako had already given up and just let the demon play 'trip and catch' as he pleased. When it seemed the song was finally coming to an end, he twirled her then followed that up with a perfectly positioned foot to trip her and let her fall until her back was about to touch the ground when he caught her again. Here he collided his forehead against Yako's, making all the sounds ring and vibrate in her head, his lips hovering just above her's, a breath away. Yako froze and her honey coloured eyes could only keep flickering from Neuro's emerald orbs to their barely touching lips, a light shade of rose pink floating to her cheeks as the situation sunk in.

Fleeing from his hiding place in the shadows where he had been watching the detective and her assistant on the roof top, Keane Schwartz balled his hands into fists, clenching them so tightly his knuckles went white and his arm shook with anger. Violent rage filled his entire being as jealousy and resentment took over all logic in his mind. Before rejoining the majority of the college students in the function room, he seethed, "Now let it be war upon you both."

And then a scream tore the night apart with its dread and stripped the celebrations of its contentment; only one being rejoiced in hearing that shriek echo down the hotel corridors and he couldn't help but grin at the thought of the steady growth of his upcoming meal.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author Notes:** We're nearly halfway through and nearing the climax! :O Sorry for the slight delay – I had work experience last week and wasn't able to write at all… Please look forward to the rest of this story and thank you for everyone's patience with me. And about the cookie jar thing… It's not like it hasn't happened when Yako was a kid okay? And the tarot cards fortune telling… I have no idea how that happens since there are many different ways of doing readings out there so I sort of made my version up…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro or anything related to it.

* * *

_Fleeing from his hiding place in the shadows, Keane Schwartz balled his hands into fists, clenching them so tightly his knuckles went white and his arm shook with anger. Violent rage filled his entire being as jealousy and resentment took over all logic in his mind. Before rejoining the majority of the college students in the function room, he seethed, "Now let it be war upon you both."_

_And then a scream tore the night apart with its dread and stripped the celebrations of its contentment; only one being rejoiced in hearing that shriek echo down the hotel corridors and he couldn't help but grin at the thought of the steady growth of his upcoming meal._

..::ЯR::..

"She's been killed the same way as Klavieres did," Yako studied the dark bruises around Violette's neck in the photo, "But it's hard to know if she was moved here after death or killed here on the spot…"

"Fool, she was most certainly killed here," Neuro loomed over the blonde as he shook the girl, as if expecting her to produce some sort of noise like a gift presented to a child in a box, "If you were paying attention at all, the victim was still alive when we first arrived at the hotel. What about the surroundings? Tell me what you know from observing the crime scene."

When he finally released her, she staggered a little, her brain losing all sense of balance and direction for a moment. Once her body and senses readjusted, Yako let her eyes crawl over the emergency fire escape route. There was truthfully nothing out of place – or rather nothing to be misplaced. Like any normal fire escape, the walls were bare, the stairways clear, the fire extinguishers where they should be, no signs of a struggle taking place, green exit signs indicating the nearest exits and there was nothing interesting about the number thirty painted in black on the wall. Believing there was something that she missed, Yako moved around the crime scene, analysing the environment at different perspectives until she found the key element that she had missed. She leant over the railing of the staircases and looked up, watching as the stairs coiled upwards at stiff angles. Feeling a heavy weight squash her against the metal railing, the detective winced as she felt her demonic companion's head resting on her shoulder, his body bent backward with his back in a curved arch. Yako tried to brush aside the ticklish feel of his soft feather like hair on her bare shoulder – once back in the warm interior of the hotel, Neuro had practically torn his jacket off her, claiming that it was so oversized that one day it would slip off her body and it'll be soiled by her inferior dirty germs of stupidity and infect him with it.

The demon had his arms crossed and a look of satisfaction on his face as he stared up at the eye of the architectural cyclone. He straightened himself, "Slave, go up to the thirty-seventh floor," Rubbing her sore shoulder muscles, the blonde made her way towards the exit but was held back by Neuro's two gloved hands planted firmly on her shoulders. Yako let her head turn to face him, her neck moving like a badly oiled machine part. Neuro had one of the most amiable smiles on his face, "You must still be feeling rather disorientated from all the drinks before; you're going the wrong way, teacher."

"Well you said the thirty-seventh floor right? That's why I'm going to take the –" Yako said in defence but was cut off when the demon's finger pointed in the direction of the stairs. Her jaw dropped. "Are you crazy? This is the thirtieth floor!"

"A small trek would do you some good."

"But seven floors in heels?"

"No one told you to wear heels."

Grinding her teeth together in frustration and grumbling in complaint, the nineteen year old stormed up the first flight of stairs. She looked back at Neuro. He waved her away as if he was dismissing a servant or he was trying to brush away an irritating fly that had been pestering him. Yako frowned and stormed up another set of agonizing steps.

Damn that sadistic thing of a demon.

After minutes of rigorous stair climbing exercises, Yako breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the spray painted number of thirty seven printed on the wall. Having taken her heels off halfway, Yako's feet now felt cold against the concrete. Peering over the edge of the railings, she found it possible to just barely see the crime scene from her position and angle. Rather than finding Neuro's blank face beaming up at her, she could only see the dichromatic haired demon's back facing her. Amongst all the echoing shuffles of the last of the police packing up and moving out, she could pick out the distinctive voice of Keane Schwartz. She couldn't distinguish the words being said as the reverberation was too strong in the fire escape.

She wasn't particularly concerned with their exchange of words until the light blonde man suddenly fell forward as if tripping, with something gleaming silver slipping out of his shirt sleeve, a look of pure hatred fixed on his usually charming features. For a moment her heart skipped a beat but it resumed its beating once again when Neuro caught the German by the wrist and held him by the shoulder. The demon pulled his arm back until Keane's hand was well past the railing and from the police's perspective, it would seem like the detective's assistant was merely being helpful and stopping the pianist from tripping forward further. However it didn't slip Yako's eyes, judging from the pianist's shaking hand and loosened grip on the knife, the demon must be squeezing his wrist very tightly until finally, the German dropped the weapon and let it clang its way down the gap between the stairs down to the ground floor. Yako could barely make out Neuro's comment in his feint innocent voice about the man being careful and watching his step next time. As if he was an actor performing ad lib onstage, Keane put up a seamless smile that matched Neuro's fake persona and thanked the taller man before excusing himself from the crime scene. Once sure that the German had left the scene, Yako called out towards the demon and asked him if he was all right. Neuro flashed her a grin, exhibiting his rows of sharp teeth. Releasing a breath that she didn't know she held tightly, the nineteen year old smiled softly at the demon.

"But why would Keane try to kill you in broad daylight, when it's obvious that he would have no alibi, no proof of innocence and when the police have just left? After planning out these murders perfectly to avoid suspicion, why would he go so far as to sacrifice all this?"

"It seems your brain is becoming more and more like a sewer everyday; accepting everything and rejecting nothing," The demon snarled in impatience and vexation, "As I have said one too many times, humans become very negligent in their actions and thoughts when pressurized. But if Keane Schwartz wants to stop me from solving this case, he'll have to try much harder."

No matter how many years she's known him for or how many mysteries she's solved with him, his intelligence has never ceased to amaze her. Whether it be a recurring trick, inconspicuous puzzle or just simply applying crude logic, nothing troubled his mind for too long. And to further support his undeniable aptitude were his superhuman abilities – impeccable observation of everything and unworldly tools amongst numerous others. Not a single criminal has stood before Nougami Neuro and had not been manipulated so that the demon could feed upon their negative emotions without feeling absolutely crushed afterwards.

"Do you already know how to break his alibi, Neuro?" The blonde blinked in incredulity.

"Go home now and rest. As usual tomorrow, go and observe as much of Keane Schwartz as you can. Judging from what information we have gathered up to this point, we only need a little more to prove him guilty."The mystery eating demon laughed, "This mystery is already on the tip of my tongue."

..::ЯR::..

The inconsiderate demon had decided that escorting Yako back to her house was unnecessary and simply disappeared into the dark night, claiming that he had more important things to do than walk brainless slaves back to their filthy abodes. Keeping to the main streets of the area with the constant accompaniment of the tall street lights guarding her as she made her way home, Yako shivered a little. Even when they had entered the hot season of summer, the nights were relatively cold with the absence of the sun.

"Young lady, are you interested in what fate has planned for you?" A woman's gentle voice beckoned from the side of the street. Looking around her to find no one else who the woman could possibly be talking to, Yako pointed to herself. The woman smiled, "Yes, you."

The woman was dressed just like one of those fortune tellers from those movies, the ones who seemed like gypsies and told your future by gazing intently into crystal balls and foretold your future with astrological analysis. Perhaps not one of the most convincing looking fortune tellers in Japan, but she seemed genuinely interested in Yako. Gesturing for the blonde to take a seat at her small table that was cloaked with a deep purple velvet fabric and lighted up dimly by two candles at each end of the table, the woman then presented to the girl a deck of long rectangular cards, the backs of the cards ornately decorated with swirls.

"I was told by the Tarot cards that I would meet someone who had misfortunes so great that it was as if they had the devil dancing on their back," The fortune teller shuffled the cards, "And after I meet this person, I am to help them predict what fate has in store for them."

Yako almost snorted at the comment about the devil. Yako had never been one to believe in the paranormal until her encounter with Neuro; who knows, perhaps fortune telling is actually authentic, not that it would hurt to try and prove whether this was true or not. The woman smiled and spread the cards out in a fan in a welcoming motion. After settling down opposite her, the woman then instructed the detective to select four cards. Giving it no particular thought, Yako drew four cards at random.

With the cards still facing down, the fortune teller arranged the cards in a diamond formation. She explained, gesturing to the respective cards as she went in clockwise direction, "The first card I put down represents relationships, the second finances, third being health and happiness and the last, career."

Yako nodded. Flipping the first card that she had placed down, Yako watched as the woman's lips drew a tight line. The upside down card bearing the image of a woman on the left and a man on the right, both holding a golden cup with plumes of dark grey clouds in the background.

"This is a two of cups. In terms of relationships, when this card is reversed suggests emotional hardships and imbalance. There will be a time when it seems hard, if not impossible, to understand where others are coming from. Arguments go around in circles and it may feel like the situation will never be resolved," The fortune teller elucidated, "While it may seem hopeless, all is not lost. All you need is a little time and understanding to resolve the problem."

Yako leant forward in concern; this card would determine her food budget for the next month. Moving onwards to the next card in the diamond, the woman turned it over, this time the card facing the correct direction. Seeing that it faced the correct way lifted a burden from Yako's shoulders. The card displayed an archway of a cathedral, a stained glass window of reds and yellows marking three pentacles with a man holding a hammer and nail in the foreground chipping away at one of the pillars that supported the archway.

"The three of pentacles is all about putting in time and effort to gain a reward. For those who have invested in learning a new skill and becoming a master of a field of work, especially the arts or crafts, their hard work is about to be rewarded. Having spent time to reach the height of a profession, you are now regarded with respect."

The meaning of the three of pentacles equated to nothing for Yako. All this time, she hasn't received a single payment from Neuro for slaving away in order to feed him. However she wouldn't say she was too interested in making huge amounts of money from solving cases – if she had enough to get by with life, then she was content.

The next card to be revealed was a card that depicted a blazing tower caught in a violent thunderstorm. Bolts of thunder provoked the tower as two dark figures could be seen falling to their deaths from the tower as the roaring ocean waves engulfed them from below. The blonde exclaimed, "This card's facing the right way! Does this mean it's a good thing?" But judging from the grim look on the woman's face, it didn't seem so. The card didn't emit any positive meanings from appearances either.

"No, the tower is an unmistakable card of misfortune whether upright or reversed," The fortune teller continued, "Change without warning is about to turn your life upside down. This may wreak havoc on you, as the tower's change is disruptive and even revolutionary. Judging from the appearance of the two of cups, it may be likely that it is referring to a period of frustration where intense anger will burn to the surface and explode, then vanish again. However it is important to remember that relationships that the tower touches may not end, but will change for the better."

"And the final card represents career right?" Yako inquired.

The woman nodded and turned the last card over. Compared to all her other cards, this one had the best visual representation and had the most positive aura to it. Not to mention it was upright. The card showed a fair maiden with a look of peace and serenity seated in a lush green field, the environment behind her beautiful shades of emerald and the sky a dazzling sepia. In the maiden's lap was a lion, its coat a rich shade of maroon matched with golden eyes. As if the beast was an everyday domestic cat, the maiden stroked the lion's face and held it gently in her arms.

"This card is strength," The woman smiled at the image held within the card, "When strength appears as a person, it represents someone who can gain trust and respect through their generous and open heart. Their love and kindness has overcome many obstacles and made friends from opponents. Love and faith are grounding influences and provide strength to triumph in all situations. With strength, you need to assess your relationships and learn to forgive past problems. It is possible to continue moving forward but only if both sides are willing to turn over a new leaf."

Yako beamed, satisfied with her predictions. Rather than mulling over the destructive implications of the tower, she basked in the joy of hearing about the meanings to the final card. However, when she came face to face with her problem the very next day, it was a little too late to pay any attention to the words the fortune teller had spoken to her. Perhaps if she placed more importance on the implications of the cards, she could have avoided this adversity. If what the fortune teller said was true and that this was all planned by fate, maybe it was all unavoidable in the end. But all was for naught now; he cut the red string that bound them together and she threw it away. Their worlds may crumble during their separation but there is no going back. What has happened has happened and what is done is done.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author Notes:** Sorry for the massive wait! I'm on holidays and honestly, I literally am taking a holiday so this ended up being a target of procrastination…The core of this entire fanfiction has come, please keep reading!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro or anything related to it.

* * *

_Yako beamed, satisfied with her predictions. Rather than mulling over the destructive implications of the tower, she basked in the joy of hearing about the meanings to the final card. However, when she came face to face with her problem the very next day, it was a little too late to pay any attention to the words the fortune teller had spoken to her. Perhaps if she placed more importance on the implications of the cards, she could have avoided this adversity. If what the fortune teller said was true and that this was all planned by fate, maybe it was all unavoidable in the end. But all was for naught now; he cut the red string that bound them together and she threw it away. Their worlds may crumble during their separation but there is no going back. What has happened has happened and what is done is done._

..::ЯR::..

At first she had been doubtful, uncertain what thoughts and ideas circled Keane Schwartz's mind. He had invited her to come to the music college's concert hall late at night, an hour that was perhaps not the safest for a girl travelling alone. When he had presented her with the idea, the German seemed to place heavy emphasis on the condition that she be alone when she came to meet him later that night, reasoning that he wanted to hear some comments from her regarding one of his self composed pieces. Of course, it was her so called 'responsibility' – as phrased by Neuro – that she persevere until the very end when they have gleaned enough information to prove the man guilty. She knew it was a bad habit to rely on the demon to come save the damsel in distress all the time, but knowing that he would always prevent her from falling into harm's way always provides her with comfort. With this in her mind, the detective set off with a positive mindset, keen on drawing the last threads of information from the pianist.

Setting foot into the empty concert hall, it struck Yako again just how large the hall was. Paved in thick dull red carpet that was soft under her foot, she somehow felt a little out of place amongst the unmoving lines of parallel seats. Spotting the musician with his attractive Nordic appearance, the girl greeted him. "You said you wanted me to listen to something you composed right?" Yako glanced around the concert hall, looking for a grand piano that was obviously not present.

The German nodded sheepishly, "But it's so appalling I'd rather play it in a practice room, if you don't mind." Gesturing for her to follow him towards the backstage area, they made their way through the hallways until they arrived at a practice room, the door swung wide open, beckoning for them to enter.

Yako caught a flash of bright yellow that sealed off the crime scene just a few steps further to her left. Entering the practice room after Keane, she was reminded by the yellow tape that she was now alone with a suspect in a murder case. Her stance stiffened in nervousness. The room was near identical to the one where the body of the first victim had been discovered, although this room was larger in size. The only difference was the adjoining room. When she asked about it, the musician said that it was a store room for spare instruments but was rarely used by anyone at all. Curious about the store room, the detective wandered into it and found several double bass cases propped up against the wall, violins tucked away in their cases and a selection of other brass, string and woodwind instruments. Yako wrinkled her nose in displeasure as a musty smell of dust, age and something else faint wafted to her nose. Finding the temperature in the storage room oddly cold, she rubbed her arms and located the air conditioning system in the room. It was switched off.

"Are you done with your detective games?" A voice called from the doorway, calling to mind the image of a predator laughing at its prey's stupidity and misfortune from outside a trap. Yako shivered and turned around in dread. Keane Schwartz stood in the doorway, outlined with light as the other room's lights barraged the chilly storage room. The lights were off in the store room itself and although she couldn't see the man's face at all, she knew that his clouded winter eyes conveyed nothing other than pure evil intent. He said in the same tone that sent icy shivers down Yako's spine, "Don't assume that I'm completely oblivious to the fact that you've only been trying to draw information out of me this entire time. But I think I might have told you a little too much about myself – so it's time to silence this irritatingly nosey mouse here."

"I knew it," The girl watched the pianist vigilantly, trying to look for a weakness to understand his objective, "You were the one who killed Klavieres and Violette."

His clouded azure eyes showed no sign of hesitation, immorality dancing merrily across his entrancing features. The older man started to close the distance between himself and Yako. He laughed, "So what if you know I'm the murderer? Can you break my alibi? Do you have the evidence?"

Inside her head, Yako's instincts screamed at her to run away and escape from the impending danger. It didn't care how she got out as long as she accomplished the ultimate goal of fleeing from the German. Caught in too many life-and-death situations with criminals to be proud of had taught Yako to ignore her instincts during most of the time and rely on her logical mind to stay calm and reason accordingly; but this time, she couldn't hold back the feeling of panic. And like so many of those times when panic took over, her body refused to cooperate.

It was only when it was all too late, when he had her wrists trapped against the wall did she begin to struggle, to fight back. His face was far too close to be a comfortable distance, his lips trying to capture her's. Still attempting to yank her thin arms away, Yako shrieked, "What are you doing? Let me go!"

"What do you think I'm doing, Miss Detective?" A smirk crawled to Keane's lips as he glanced at her, making the detective's blood run cold. He licked his lips, "Before I get rid of you, I suppose it's only natural for me to take advantage of available resources."

Whilst her brain sent out erratic messages all over her body to squirm in the man's grip and force her way out of this compromising situation and scream for help all at the same time, the only remaining patch of her mind that was still unaffected by the loud pound of her heart and the adrenaline rushing through her system knew Neuro would come save her. He always arrived in the nick of time to save her from harm. And this was no exception.

Or so she thought.

She couldn't pick out a single hint of movement, a flicker of shadows or electric green eyes sparkling with sadism. Nothing moved. For a split second when she realized that no, Neuro wasn't going to be there to save her time after time, her will to resist failed to spur her on with her attempts to break free. It was then that her own voice called out from the deeper corners of her mind, frantically interrogating and throwing questions at her. What happened to the Katsuragi Yako that had existed during the three years of Neuro's absence? What happened to her independence, her strength to solve cases even without Neuro's convenient demon tools? What would he say if she surrendered? Punish her? Demote her? Abandon her? Replace her?

With her motivation restored, Yako managed to free one arm, using it to force Keane's head away from her just as he had undone half of the buttons on her blouse. With the heel of her high heels, she stomped on his foot, applying as much pressure as she could. As a normal person would react, Keane swore and flinched, his other hand instantly releasing her, providing her with an opportunity to escape. Using a hand to hold her blouse together where the buttons had been undone, Yako ran as fast as she could outside onto the streets, into the public where the man wouldn't possibly dare do anything else more to her.

Once she reached home, she slammed the door shut and locked it. It was only when she was back in the safe confines of her own house did she allow all her emotions to resurface. Tightening her hold on her blouse until she could feel her nails digging into her own hand through the fabric, Yako leant back on the door and let herself slide and sit in a heap at the foot of it, curled up into a ball, willing herself to drown in the darkness that infested her apartment, hiding her face from no one in particular – after all, this home is practically unoccupied by anyone apart from her; her mother is constantly overseas due to her job's nature and her father had passed away four years ago. Released from the crushing maw of panic and fear, the entire event that had only occurred a while ago came racing back into her mind as if afraid she had already forgotten it in the short time that it took her to sprint home. Tears sprung into her eyes, the salty liquid streaming down her face as she recalled being held against the wall, Keane Schwartz's violating lips smothering her face as she refused to stay still. Even now, she could feel his heated breath against her skin and all the other things she experienced moments ago.

What Yako had failed to notice when she returned home was the figure lying on the ceiling, his back magically attached to the ceiling to defy all rules of gravity. It was easy to tell that he was not happy through his body language – his arms were crossed over his chest and his expression a heartless glare of vexation and antagonism. "Yako, the mystery has withdrawn into its shell," He said, "What can you say in defence of delaying my meal?"

The girl remained where she was and did not reply. The demon leapt down from the ceiling.

"To be affected so greatly by something minor like this…"

"Somebody like you would never understand!" Yako couldn't hold her temper back anymore and snapped at the tall man, "You knew and you didn't do anything?"

"I had confidence in you but it seems that this trust is merely one sided," Neuro watched the human's tear stained face for a moment as his facial expression warped into an even uglier look, a tint of disgust mixed with impatience. "The current you is disqualified from calling yourself my partner. Don't show your face at the office until you've reflected upon your faults." Without another word, the green eyed demon slipped out into the dark night through the window, melting into the night time cityscape of glittering lights, much like the very reflection of the world's night sky dotted with millions of stars.

"You monster!" Yako screamed after his disappearing back and threw whatever she could grab at the man dressed in the blue suit, the item missing the open window but hit the wall beside it instead. Staring in the direction which Neuro left, the blonde only hugged her knees closer and cried. She was convinced that this whole ordeal would be avoided if Neuro had come to save her and yet, his cruel words cut her deeply. She was convinced that it was entirely his fault that she nearly got raped and yet, she was the one who ended up even more wounded than before after their short exchange of words.

..::ЯR::..

Trailing his hands gently over the monochrome keys of the piano as if it was delicate porcelain and letting his fingers linger slightly on every key as if he was sad to part with the piano, Keane Schwartz's sharp features were a presentation of alarming composed serenity. In any case, he knew he wouldn't be arrested for what he had done just then. If the detective accused him of attempted rape, would she be able to supply any proof? Even with her international fame taken into account, if she informed the police that he was the culprit behind the murder of Klavieres and Violette, without evidence her theories were nothing but blasphemy. However on the other hand, he has to be careful from now on. She knows he's the murderer. Although insufficient, she does have shreds of information gathered from other sources and eventually, she will be able to destroy his alibi. It was only a matter of time.

If he was going to be arrested in the end of it all, why not cherish the time he had left before his freedom was taken away? Why not use that time effectively and attain all that he had wanted?

After a moment's pondering, it appeared to him that a barrier poised itself between him and his goal. "Katsuragi Yako, I'll have you learn that whatever I want, I get," The German pianist's lips widened to a delightfully grotesque grin, "But I think I'll enjoy an appetizer first, it'll make the main dish all the more delicious. What was his name again?"

Rummaging through his memories for a name, Keane once again let his fingers glide over piano keys gently. Suddenly tightening the muscles in his hand and sending the tips of his fingers crashing down on the piano keys to produce a horrible clash of notes, Keane smiled.

"Nougami Neuro was it?"


End file.
